FIRE DESTROYS COUNTY PLOW TRUCK

A plow truck at the Sanders County shop between Thompson Falls and Trout Creek was totaled in a fire last Sunday, and the shop incurred damages as well. The 1996 truck serviced the county for only three or four years, according to operator Dan Bloom, who last drove the vehicle the Friday before the fire. A motorist driving past the facility, west of the Big Beaver Creek turnoff, noticed smoke coming from the garage and reported the fire. Both Thompson Falls and Trout Creek fire departments and Thompson Falls ambulance were at the scene. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire is being investigated by a fire marshal from Missoula.

Sanders County Commissioner Tony Cox said that only two of the five plows at the county shop are operable, and that the building is nearly a total loss. He said that residents need to be aware that if the county gets another significant snowstorm, road clearing activities will be affected by the decrease in the number of vehicles available.